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19 thoughts on “How Values Expedite Connection and Integration”

Dan, you just hit the proverbial team managerial nail on the head. What a team picture to hang in the office. That blends visual with tactical in the most simplistic photogenic manner I have noted in the longest of times.

Exceptional post Dan! Very timely, too! I transitioned to working with a completely new team recently and this is a helpful reminder to focus on interacting with team members based on their personal value(s) and then centralize around the team’s shared value. Thank you for the reminder!

Nice article and great observations.
How about including the person thats usually late and misses work,
And let’s not forget the person that always has an excuse
for an answer why they are not performing up to par.
Our company sets Solar appointments for residential solar power.

Thanks Jeff. In the spirit of this post, connection and alignment come before confrontation. However, it doesn’t seem like that’s what you are asking.

Confronting a team mate depends on your position and relationship with them. If it’s a team environment, the team should establish values and expectations. Open conversations are essential. Hopefully before issues arise.

Keep a forward focus. You can’t change the past. How can you look into the future and make things better, rather than punishing the past.

What’s in it for them? The context of leaderly confrontation is what’s in it for the person being confronted and the organization. Too often we just want to make our own lives easier. (Obviously that’s not all bad)

If it’s a work partner, maybe it’s time to speak the truth with compassion.

It’s important for me to be straight forward to new team member. Sharing expectations, values and norms. Fostering an open environment where people respect each other is important to me and for my team members to develop themselves.

As usual your post is excellent and timely for me. I spoke to a fellow manager yesterday about the difference between satisfaction and engagement. If you want to engage, you need to hone in in what matters to the employee.

Thanks for the post, Dan. Getting the most out of teams is a fascinating subject to me. The idea of recognizing and customizing our language to align with our team members’ personal values is extremely helpful. That’s assuming, I think, that their personal values are ones that fit within the team’s collective standards.

I would think that if not done correctly, however, this type of communication could feel manipulative to the team member. So, making sure you really understand your team member’s values and motivations would really help in being authentic in your communication with that person. People can sniff out a manipulative phony in a heartbeat.

Thanks Mark. Nicely said. The biggest team stresses, in my opinion, happen over colliding values. When their #1 value is our #3 we have to understand and adapt. I used to be frustrated with people who didn’t fully align with my #1 value. That’s a limiting approach to leadership. I’ve learned to open up and respect the way others view the world. The result is I can be more affirming rather than antagonistic.

However, nothing good comes from a team member who’s values don’t fit. Tension is inevitable. Glad you stopped in today.

This is only my second day of following your blog, Dan, and I am enjoying it very much.

I think another way to think about “sharing values” is assessing another’s needs and striving to meet them in a realistic and productive way. I agree with Mark that care needs to be taken that you are sincere in your empathy, so that you don’t risk inspiring cynicism instead of cooperation.

Just a reinforcement that every member of your team is different it what makes them tick and has to be approached according to their values. I really enjoyed reading all your post this morning. Excellent!